3711 French Saison - Tips/tricks?

[CharlosCarlies]

Got this idea from another forum, but since we're wanting to use this yeast a lot more, I wanted to see if anybody had any tips/tricks of their own to share.

We've only brewed a few beers with it, but here are my (admittedly limited) observations:

- It actually tastes fairly neutral "Belgiany" when pitched and fermented coldish (mid 60's)
- It finishes very dry number wise, but nobody would describe it as that because of that silky mouthfeel everyone talks about.
- It ferments fairly quickly from the start, but is pretty damn slow to attenuate those last few gravity points. There were a couple times where I thought it was done, but it then proceeded to chug through another .04 or so over the next week or two.
- It's a royal PITA to harvest since it doesn't floc worth a damn.
- It doesn't seem all that sensitive to O2 and pitch rates

The last one is questionable because of a very small sample size, but my brother brewed a SMASH w/ Pils/Sorachi and forgot to aerate whatsoever. He did make a starter, but it was an old smack pack and still a slight under-pitch. The 3711 still hit 90%+ ADF, didn't take much longer to ferment, and came out surprisingly clean w/ no off-flavors.

Does anyone else have experience under-pitching this yeast? Any other tips/tricks to share?

 

[norcalniner]

I don't have any experience with the 3711 strain; I'm using WLP 565.

Brad Smith - Brewing Saison Beer with Nathan Smith
http://youtu.be/c5J_sPo3aj0

I found this video very helpful in general when it came to brewing a saison. Nathan Smith talks about yeast towards the middle of the interview. He mostly talked about WLP565 but did mention Wyeast 3711. To summarize, the yeast needs a lot of oxygen, use a starter kit, give the yeast some nutrients, and keep the fermenter warm. (mine is currently at 75*)

 

[duboman]

3711 is a great yeast, I pitch at 68 and simply let it free rise to wherever it goes, usually up to 80 and finishes within 10 days


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[Fermented_minds]

I typically use this yeast in a lower temperature range (68-70), and the profile is still wonderful and the beer is dry as can be. Most of my moderate gravity saisons I've used this on go to 1.001-1.003.

 

[govner1]

3711 is a great yeast, I pitch at 68 and simply let it free rise to wherever it goes, usually up to 80 and finishes within 10 days


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^^^ This. I've found that letting the temp rise gradually to even as high as the mid 80's give you a the "right" esters. It also lets it drop out nicely.


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[BlueHouseBrewhaus]

I've only used it 3 or 4 times. Granted this is limited experience but it seemed it did its best when I started mid-60s for a few days, ramp up to mid 70's for a few more and then back to mid-60's for the remainder. It has always been a slow finisher for me. None has finished in less than 3 weeks. Everytime I think it's done, it drops another point. Always finishes around 1.003 - 1.008.

 

[duboman]

I've only used it 3 or 4 times. Granted this is limited experience but it seemed it did its best when I started mid-60s for a few days, ramp up to mid 70's for a few more and then back to mid-60's for the remainder. It has always been a slow finisher for me. None has finished in less than 3 weeks. Everytime I think it's done, it drops another point. Always finishes around 1.003 - 1.008.

Instead of dropping the temp after raising allow it to continue to rise, you don't need to be so stringent with Belgian strains. Dropping the temp 10 degrees simply slows the yeast down, I've never had 3711 take more than 10 days to finish below 1.010, usually gets me to 1.004-6 easily


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[tagz]

I've never had any problems with this finishing quickly. Typically runs it's course in 5 days. I wouldn't drop the temp at the end, and perhaps pitch a bit bigger.

 

[Fermented_minds]

I've never had any problems with this finishing quickly. Typically runs it's course in 5 days. I would drop the temp at the end, and perhaps pitch a bit bigger.

+1. Same here.



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[signpost]

I've got a high gravity batch going with this yeast right now. It's been in primary for almost 2 months now and the airlock still bubbled a couple times when I looked at it this morning.

I've gotta think it's just off-gassing. It's gotta be finished fermenting. I just haven't had a good chance to get around to bottling.

 

[CharlosCarlies]

Anybody used any simple sugars w/ this yeast? For a standard-ish gravity wort I'd never really consider it, but we (accidentally) made a 9.2% saison and while it finished ~1.003, it still had more body than I would have liked. Was thinking about just adding 5% sucrose/dextrose and seeing if that wouldn't thin out the mouthfeel just a bit.

Thoughts?

 

[jbaysurfer]

Err on the side of overpitching. Oxygenate copiously. Ramp temps at the very first sign of slowing, and don't be afraid to go up into the low 90s. I know an entire club that brewed the same recipe with this yeast, and not one of them had the yeast stall out on them as it's been known to do. Heat is your friend.